After transfer deadline day came and went, most Aston Villa fans could be forgiven for assuming Tom Cleverley wouldn’t be joining the club.

Having looked set for an £8 million switch to the midlands entering the weekend, the Manchester United midfielder’s high wage demands appeared to have put paid to a potential deal, with Everton instead emerging as the front-runners for his signature.

The 25-year-old England international was reportedly keen to reunite with Roberto Martinez, having enjoyed a successful loan spell under the Spaniard at Wigan Athletic during 2010-11 campaign, but the club's late offer of around £5 million was rejected, and prompted Villa to re-open talks at the last minute.

While a deal was eventually struck, the relevant paperwork was submitted at 01:15 after a two-hour extension had been granted, leaving the club with an anxious wait before Premier League finally approved the transfer on Tuesday afternoon.

Despite his parent club's reported preference to sell, Cleverley now arrives at Villa Park on a season-long loan deal, with an option to make the move permanent in January, prior to his United contract expiring in the summer of 2015.

Well-regarded coming up through the Old Trafford youth ranks, a hugely disappointing 2013-14 campaign has seen his reputation take a hit, however, as well as lost him his place in the England squad, with new boss Louis van Gaal deeming him surplus to requirements.

Nevertheless, a spell at Villa could be just what's needed to get his once-promising career back on track, and opinion among fans in fact seems largely optimistic about his prospects this season.

Freddie Shires

Freddie is a freelance sports writer, having recently completed an MA in Sports Journalism at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. With an especially keen interest in all things American sports-related, he has written extensively about the NFL, MLS and the U.S. national team for various sites.